OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — There are a lot of opportunities for job seekers right now as a large number of companies are working hard to fill open positions.
The Ralston High School gym was packed with companies ready to give out information and hand out applications but when it came to job seekers, the turnout wasn't that great.
"The COVID pandemic hit, people lost their childcare and they had to stop working for the Ralston school. We have others that are concerned about working in an organization with a pandemic, but we are really looking for candidates who are looking to move forward and put this behind us," said Mike Rupprecht, Executive Director of Human Resources and School Improvement, Ralston Public Schools.
The fair featured a variety of companies looking to hire immediately. Fifteen companies showed up looking for employees to join their team and they are looking to fill full-time as well as part-time positions.
Iowa Workforce Development reported that the number of people living in Iowa who are unemployed and looking for jobs increased by more than 2,000 people; a statistic from May to June of 2021.
Gary Zouch, Operations Manager at Coca-Cola says they are trying a bit of everything, "We do a lot of entry-level positions and we do train. We try to hire and bring people into different positions from within. We will train people to earn their CDL, to become service technicians, we try to do a lot of that in-house."
Some companies are increasing benefits to part-time employees. Others say they hope that offering a family-like atmosphere will make a difference.
"We have a great family-type atmosphere here in Ralston, the people in our district really support each other, we have close ties to the community, it is a sense of family and belonging that you don't get in a lot of other organizations," adds Rupprecht.
As the local unemployment rates fluctuate, businesses are eager to hire. Here is a list of the companies that participated in the job fair and are currently hiring.
- Ralston Public Schools
- Baxter Automotive
- Apache Industrial Services
- Falewitch Construction Services
- Prime Communications
- Great Clips Omaha Design Team
- Cornhusker International Trucks, Inc.
- Chesterman Coca Cola
- Truck Center Companies
- Mangleson's
- B Street Collision Center
- Builders Supply Company
- Ralston Schools Foundation
- Arbor Family Counseling
- Sodexo
Download our apps today for all of our latest coverage.
Get the latest news and weather delivered straight to your inbox.
